Sashless window latch



1962 H. R. BAXTER 3,061,348

SASHLESS WINDQW LATCH Filed July 6. 1959 I 50 52 {munuw IN VENTOR BY fa gil Henry'Reginald Bax-fer United States Patent 3,061,348 SASHLESS WINDOW LATCH Henry Reginald Baxter, Abbotsford, British Columbia,

Canada, assignor to Celwood Industries Limited, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a corporation of British Columbia Filed July 6, 1959, Ser. No. 825,061 4 Claims. (Cl. 292'202) pane and of the brass.

In the second place, when a sashless storm window has been used in the same window opening as a sashless window, it has been impossible to maintain the latch in a.

horizontal position during operation of the storm window. As a result, it tends to drop downwardly when it reaches an inaccessible position, behind the inside window, whereupon it drags along the window sill, causing indentations and preventing free movement of the pane.

In the third place, it has not been possible to lock the overlapped panes securely when the window is closed. As a result, it has been possible to open the window by applying rubber vacuum cups or other means to the outside of the pane, and then working it back and forth until the latch is released.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide a latch assembly for sashless windows which overcomes the foregoing and other defects of the prior art latches.

In the drawings: I

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a sashless window;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are front and side elevational views respectively of the herein described latch assembly;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 and illustrating particularly the locking plate which is a component of the presently described latch assembly;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view further illustrating the latch assembly; and

FIG. 6 is a detail view, enlarged and partly in section, illustrating the manner of mounting the presently described latch assembly on the window pane.

As is apparent in FIG. 1, the instant latch assembly is applicable to a sashless window comprising a pair of panes 10, 12, having their adjacent edges overlapped. The panes are mounted in a frame comprising a sill 14, a head piece 16 and a pair of side jambs 18, 20. The outside side edges of the panes are received in grooves 22, 24 of side jambs 18, 20 respectively. Their upper and lower edges are received in guideways 26, 28 in head piece and sill respectively so that one of the panes, e.g. pane 12, can slide back and forth with respect to the other to open and close the window opening.

Guideway 28 in the sill is enlarged to form a central recess or cavity 30 (FIG. 3).

Overlying recess 30 is a locking plate 32, adjustably secured to the sill by means of screws 34. The inside edge 36 of this plate, i.e. the edge adjacent the window, is cut away centrally to form a deep recess 38.

Shallower recesses 40 are also formed in edge 36, separated from central recess 38 by projections 42. Such a symmetrical locking plate construction is preferred so that it may be applied with equal facility to windows which open either to the left or to the right.

"ice

fits loosely in an opening 44 through the sliding pane.

The stud preferably comprises a bolt 46 having a flat tapered head 48, a central threaded segment 50 and an internally threaded terminal aperture 52.

The stud may be placed in opening 44 through the pane after which it receives, in the order named, a washer 54 of rubber or other deformable material, a knurled lock nut 56, a rubber cushion washer 58, and a steel retainer washer 60.

Stud 46 also mounts a leaf shaped latching member 62, the base of which is centrally apertured at 64 to receive retainer washer 60 and provided with a central recess 66 sized to receive the shank of stud 46.

Recess 66 opens out to the exterior to afford access for a screw 68, the threaded portion of which incorporates When the various elements of the latch are assembled screw 68 is received in threaded engagement with threaded recess 52 in stud 46.

a plug 70 of plastic material.

It is prevented from backing off, and secured in minute adjustment (thereby preserving the proper tension in washer 58) by the locking effect of plug 70.

Latch 62 carries at its lower end a hook-shaped extension 72. It extends downwardly into recess 30 in the sill beneath plate 32 and makes possible operation of the:

latch in the following manner:

upon the bolt head 48 closely'abuts the inside edge of pane 10 and the overlapped portions of the panes-are Counterclockwise rotation of latch 62, coupled with slight inward pressure on it to compresswasher 58, then permits the latching extension 72 of latch 62 to move outward into central recess 38 of.

brought together.

plate 32 and across projection 42 to seat in recess 40. In this position, the overlapped margins of the panes are pressed tightly together, the flat head 48 of stud 46 closely abuts the inside edge of pane 10, and it is impossible to open the window without first releasing the latch.

Complete release is accomplished by reversing the foregoing sequence. Latch 62 is pressed inward, compressing washer 58, and rotated clockwise until latching extension 72 clears projection 42 and rotates out of recess 38. However, the window may be maintained locked while partly opened by pressing inward on and rotating latch 62 to engage extension 72 under the edge of recess 38. Any attempt to enlarge the opening by moving the pane to the left will result in hooked extension 72 abutting the left hand edge of recess 38 and locking against the underside of plate 32.

However, upon again pressing inward on the latch, the latch extension may be rotated out of recess 38 so that the pane 12 may be moved to fully opened position. The head 48 of stud 46 separates the panes and prevents scratching of the glass.

During these operations, latch 62 may be maintained in any desired position of angular adjustment since screw 68, assisted by plastic plug 70, maintains the desired degree of frictional engagement between the screw and the latch. This desirable condition can be maintained in spite of discrepancies in glass thickness and despite the tendency of the screw to work loose with use. Hence when operating sashless storm windows, the latch may be maintained horizontal when it becomes inaccessibly located behind the inside pane and will not drag upon or mutilate the window sill.

Also, deformable washer 54, squeezed into the opening in the glass around stud 46 (see FIG. 6), provides a cushion, preventing the glass from cracking because of temperature change or leverage exerted by the stud. Still further, rubber washer 58 continuously and resiliently urges the latch into recess 40, when in locked position, and into recess 38 when in partially open position, there- "by insuring a positive lock.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a sashless window having a frame supporting first and second partially overlapped panes one of which is movable longitudinally relative to the other, a latch assembly including a locking plate having a locking edge and adapted to be mounted on the frame with its locking edge spaced from the frame and extending substantially parallel to the movable pane, a first projection extending from the locking edge intermediate the ends thereof and having a latch abutting edge facing the closing direction of the movable pane, a second projection extending from the locking edge and having a latch abutting edge facing the closing direction of the movable pane, the second projection being spaced from the first projection longitudinally in the opening direction of the movable pane, a latch member having a locking projection and adapted to be mounted on the movable pane for movement toward and away from the pane, means biasing the latch member to a latching position in which the locking projection underlies the locking edge of the locking plate and the, latch member may selectively engage one of the abutting edges of the projections, the latch member being movable against the biasing means to an unlatching position in which the locking projection is moved from under the locking edge of the locking plate, the latch member also being mounted for rotation on an axis substantially normal to the pane for rotating the locking projection above the locking plate when in unlatching position, the locking plate being adapted to be positioned on the frame so that the abutting edge of the first projection engages the latch member in the fully closed position of the movable pane and the abutting edge of the second projection engages the latch member in a partially open position of the pane.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the first and second projections on the locking plate also have latch abutting edges extending intermediate the ends of the locking edge and facing the direction opposite the first named latch abutting edges, whereby to accommodate the locking plate selectively for window panes which open from opposite directions.

3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the latch member includes a headed bolt adapted to extend through an opening in the movable pane with the bolt head projecting from the side of the pane facing the other pane, and wherein the portion of the locking edge between the first and second projections is displaced from the locking edge portion adjacent the first projection by substantially the projecting thickness of the bolt head.

4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the latch member mounting means includes a headed bolt adapted to extend through an opening in the movable pane with the bolt head on the side of the pane facing the other pane, locking nut means on the bolt for securing the pane between it and the bolt head, the latch member is mounted on the bolt, the biasing means comprises a resilient member interposed between the locking nut means and latch member, and adjustable means is provided for interengaging the bolt and latch member for moving the latch member relative to the locking nut, whereby to adjust the compression of the resilient member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 382,086 Herrick May 1, 1888 897,807 Wimer Sept. 1, 1908 1,604,330 Witkowski Oct. 26, 1926 1,750,423 Oglesby Mar. 11, 1930 1,797,766 Frye Mar. 24, 1931 2,530,724 Pierson Nov. 21, 1950 2,700,801 Pierson Feb. I, 1955 2,771,259 Laystrom Nov. 20, 1956 2,875,479 Pierson Mar. 3, 1959 

